Ohio State survives trip to Northwestern

Sunday

Jan 30, 2011 at 12:01 AMJan 30, 2011 at 6:54 PM

No one could have blamed Thad Matta for letting out a sigh of relief. Top-ranked Ohio State’s coach expected a difficult time against Northwestern, and that’s exactly what the unbeaten Buckeyes got Saturday night.

Rick Gano

No one could have blamed Thad Matta for letting out a sigh of relief. Top-ranked Ohio State’s coach expected a difficult time against Northwestern, and that’s exactly what the unbeaten Buckeyes got Saturday night.

They also found a way to capture their 22nd straight victory, thanks to a late steal from veteran David Lighty and a tie-breaking free throw from freshman star Jared Sullinger to pull out a 58-57 victory over the short-handed and determined Wildcats.

“We’re going to celebrate our wins,” Matta said. “What an incredible basketball game. I think we had some spurts, but give Northwestern credit. They got a rhythm going.”

Once again it was Sullinger coming through for the Buckeyes. Northwestern had a chance to take the lead, but Lighty stole a pass near the basket with 17 seconds to go. And the Buckeyes then worked the ball into the 6-foot-9, 280-pound Sullinger.

He was double-teamed throughout the game and in this instance, once he got the ball to go up near the basket, he was fouled. With Northwestern’s student section trying to distract him with waves and screams, he hit the rim with his first attempt and swished the second.

“That’s what I want. If they double me or guard me one-on-one, it’s going to be good for us. Because I can kick it out,” Sullinger said.

After three timeouts, Northwestern got a long attempt from Drew Crawford that hit the backboard.

“It was very physical down there. I thought Jared kept his composure and handled himself really well,” Matta added. “I knew we’d get a pretty good look . ... He’s hit some big shots and made some big free throws.”

Thompson’s 3-pointer with 7:53 left cut the lead to nine, and Ohio State’s Dallas Lauderdale was called for an intentional foul on the play near the basket. Davide Curletti made 1 of 2 free throws and the Wildcats retained possession with JerShon Cobb hitting a 3-pointer. The seven-point possession made it 51-46 with just a little more than seven minutes remaining.

It was a sequence that got Northwestern back in the game. The Wildcats were successful most of the night with their deliberate pass-and-cut offense that would often take the shot clock down to the final seconds.

“They’re going to get backdoor layups. They’re going to hit some 3s,” Matta said

“But it’s in between of trying to wear them down a little bit. And fortunately we did that.”

Northwestern won the boards, despite the absence of the 6-8 Shurna, 31-20 and had 14 on the offensive end. Ohio State shot 57 percent for the game and Sullinger was 7 for 12 from the field.

Shurna, who averages 19 points, sat on the bench in warmups with a boot on his left ankle that had been sprained earlier this season.

The Buckeyes, meanwhile, have now matched the second longest winning streak in school history.

In 2006-07 Ohio State also won 22 straight, counting tournament games, before losing in the NCAA championship game. The 1961-62 team was victorious in its first 22 games. The longest Buckeyes win streak was 32, spanning two seasons from 1959-60 (last five) to 1960-61 (first 27).